This weekend it was time for the legendary Monaco GP, as the F1 caravan arrived in Monte Carlo for round 6. The glamour of Monte Carlo was overshadowed by the passing of Niki Lauda, the triple F1 world champion, who had passed away on Monday at the age of 70. The iconic F1 star has been remembered by all teams. All Mercedes team members wear a black crape this weekend. Sebastian wears a special helmet, inspired by Niki Lauda. A true racer and a legend is now gone, but he will never be forgotten.
The Monaco qualifying is known for the traffic. Getting a competitive lap time is all about getting the right track position. All cars came out right away, as the light turned green, as it was crucial to set a banker lap, had there been yellow flags or virtual safety car. Red Bull had convincing pace, as they had had also last year. Verstappen went fastest in the halfway point of the first session. Sebastian had a very tame start to the session, and he was only 10th fastest, as there were 8 minutes left in the clock. Mercedes' Bottas gave a storm warning by going fastest, with five minutes remaining. Sebastian was still struggling with the rhythm at the end of the session. He set the screens purple in the first sector, but touched the barrier in the sector two, which forced the German to abandon his flyer. He was just barely able to start his last flyer in time. And what a flyer it turned out! Sebastian went fastest, topping the time sheets in Q1! He was followed by the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas. Verstappen was fourth and Toro Rosso's Kvyat fifth. But what was an unbelievable and unexpected catastrophe for Ferrari, was the elimination of home hero Leclerc! The Monegasque wasn't sent out again at the end of the session, which proved an extremely costly error. The track conditions improved so significantly, that Charles' time, which had been set at the beginning of Q2, simply wasn't competitive enough! Poor Charles had to face a bitter disappointment in front of his home crowd, being the first driver to be knocked out of Q2. Both Racing Points and both Williams cars were also out of the second session.
The Silver Arrows were back in business, as Q2 got underway. Bottas set the benchmark by clocking a new track record! Teammate Hamilton was four tenths behind his Finnish teammate respectively. Verstappen showed impressive performance and went second fastest. After the first runs Sebastian was only 9th in the standings, 1.2s off Bottas' pace. With five minutes remaining in the clock, all 15 cars were out on track. Verstappen at the wheel of his RB15 snatched the top spot from Bottas, who was followed by teammate Hamilton. Sebastian found the rhythm on his last run, jumping fourth. However, there was no matching the Silver Arrows' pace, as Sebastian was massive six tenths off the pace. Although both Alfa Romeos had been among the top ten in the last free practice session in the morning, their pace had somehow mysteriously vanished, coming to the qualifying. Against all odds, Kimi was only 14th and had no hopes of getting into Q3. Teammate Giovinazzi in P15 shared his teammate's fate. Also Renault's Hulkenberg, McLaren's Norris and Haas' Grosjean were knocked out of the final segment.
The question was, whether Mercedes ace Bottas was going to claim his fourth consecutive pole. The flying Finn had a phenomenal start to the last segment, grabbing firmly on the provisional pole. Hamilton didn't manage to put together a competitive lap time on his first attempt, but his second flyer made him jump second in the standings. Two tenths of a second were separating the Mercedes teammates. Verstappen was third, with almost a four-tenth gap to the Finn. Unfortunately Sebastian wasn't capable of challenging the top three by any means. However, the second runs at the end of the session played a crucial role. Once again Sebastian set the screens purple in the first sector, but touched the barrier in sector two, already for the second time! No wonder he was unable to improve his lap time. Bottas had an issue with the traffic on his last warm-up lap, which meant, that starting his last flyer, his tyre temperatures weren't in the perfect window. The Finn proved unable to improve his lap time, whilst his teammate pulled out a perfect lap, snatching pole! Bottas, who qualified only 0.086s behind his teammate, was extremely disappointed with his second place. On the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, the pole position is bigger an advantage than at any other race track on the F1 calendar. Verstappen maintained his third place, and Sebastian was left fourth. This was the first time this season for Sebastian having qualified out of the top three. Red Bull's Gasly and Haas' Magnussen locked down the third row, followed by Renault's Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Kvyat. McLaren's Sainz and Toro Rosso's Albon were the last of the top ten.
In Monaco the qualifying is usually more exciting than the race, as overtaking is considered almost impossible on the streets of the Municipality. Hamilton, being the pole-setter, has an extremely high chance of winning the race tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the sixth 1-2 for Mercedes tomorrow. But I certainly hope it won't! The Monaco GP requires perfect and 100 % concentration from the driver throughout the race, as the narrow track with walls close, won't forgive any mistakes. Mistakes like Sebastian made in the last free practice, where he ended up into the wall after a lock-up. It certainly would be a refreshing change to see some red surprises in the race!
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